Cara Behrens
Dr. Fogelman
EDC 102 H
September 9, 2013
There has always been something compelling about the stage. There’s a captivating quality about the way the lights ricochets off the performers carefully painted face and back to the attentive audience. The stage has been captivating audiences since ancient times. One may ask: How is that performance has remained relevant for centuries when so many other human spectacles have been lost? My answer to this question is rather simple:
The stage is a forum for portraying a messagewithout necessarily having to speak. It evokes the senses and provides an escape for its performers and audience members. This experience can be both liberating and enticing. It is the unique qualities of the stage that enable myself to express emotions without necessarily having to formulate words.
This concept has provoked me to become choreographer. I’ve been dancing since the age of five, however as I grew older I sought to take the next step. However, to become a successful choreographer, I would have to put in the time, research and practice. These sacrifices enabled to become the choreographer that I am today.
My first experience with choreography was in my High School’s dance program. My dance instructor was looking to expand the program and felt that a student run show case would draw the attention of the community and help it’s growth. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to expand my abilities as a dancer. Immediately I began to think of different topics I could create dances about. I pulled from personal experiences and from topics that inspired me. Now that I had a starting point, I wondered: how does one choreograph? I quickly turned to my dance coach and asked her where to begin. She redirected me to the library where I located numerous books all centered on the process of choreography. In my personal experience, I have found it extremely beneficial to read from the work of others before attempting my own ventures.
In order to be successful in any task, you need a foundation. In my endeavor to become a successful choreographer, I chose to read about the foundation of choreography. In addition I watched videos of successfully choreographed dances. The work of Rudolf Laban was an excellent resource. Laban characterizes dance movement into specific “Laban Efforts,” which include soft, hard, and sudden, sustained. With my background in dance, I understood which steps constituted these characteristics and was able to determine how to go about choreographing my own dances. For example, in my dance duet about depression, I used slow sustained movement to show depression’s crippling effects. Another concept that was helpful learning how to vary movement. Retrograde for example takes a sequence of steps performs and them backwards. This makes the choreography more visually appealing to the audience. Although there is a somewhat mathematical approach to choreographing a dance, I found that in order to create a meaningful dance it was most important to request feed back from my peers. Seeking the advice of others is often challenging but completely necessary in order to improve ones self. Although, showing my choreography to others makes me vulnerable to criticism, it has enabled me to improve my skills as a choreographer.
Standing in front of my dance class in my canvas ballet slippers, I began to explain the intention of my dance. My first choreographed dance was about the passing of my grandmother. Her and I were never close because she was hospitalized due to mental illness. My dance showed the disconnect I felt with my grandmother by including sharp, choppy and spontaneous movement. After performing my dance I asked for feedback from my peers. After discovering the strong points and weaknesses of my dance, I went back and revised. The combination of research and peer editing helped me become better at choreographing. I believe that when working on a skill it is vital to do research and seek feedback from others. The combination of these two practices has helped me to become a successful choreographer. Also, each dance I choreograph becomes much better than the last because I have gained more experience.
With time and effort, I have been able to improve my skills as a choreographer. The way I became strong in this art was by research, feedback and experience. Now that I understand how to choreograph, I am able to use this skill to portray my stance on different subjects. I see this as a valuable asset because it gives me a voice that not many others have. Now not only can I perform, but I can share my own story on stage. The world is constantly changing, and through dance I can express many new ideas. The stage is a fantastic forum to present new ideas and relate to others. As an education major, I see the arts as an asset to our society and hope to encourage my future students to find their own artistic outlet. Choreography has enabled me to express myself, and I plan on giving my future students and opportunity to express themselves as well. Choreographing has given me a boost confidence and I hope by introducing the arts to my students they can have confidence in all that they do. To project your thoughts out to the public can often be scary, but provides you with positive feedback and a sense of voice. The stage is one of the many forums for this voice.
Dr. Fogelman
EDC 102 H
September 9, 2013
There has always been something compelling about the stage. There’s a captivating quality about the way the lights ricochets off the performers carefully painted face and back to the attentive audience. The stage has been captivating audiences since ancient times. One may ask: How is that performance has remained relevant for centuries when so many other human spectacles have been lost? My answer to this question is rather simple:
The stage is a forum for portraying a message without necessarily having to speak. It evokes the senses and provides an escape for its performers and audience members. This experience can be both liberating and enticing. It is the unique qualities of the stage that enable myself to express emotions without necessarily having to formulate words.
This concept has provoked me to become choreographer. I’ve been dancing since the age of five, however as I grew older I sought to take the next step. However, to become a successful choreographer, I would have to put in the time, research and practice. These sacrifices enabled to become the choreographer that I am today.
My first experience with choreography was in my High School’s dance program. My dance instructor was looking to expand the program and felt that a student run show case would draw the attention of the community and help it’s growth. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to expand my abilities as a dancer. Immediately I began to think of different topics I could create dances about. I pulled from personal experiences and from topics that inspired me. Now that I had a starting point, I wondered: how does one choreograph? I quickly turned to my dance coach and asked her where to begin. She redirected me to the library where I located numerous books all centered on the process of choreography. In my personal experience, I have found it extremely beneficial to read from the work of others before attempting my own ventures.
In order to be successful in any task, you need a foundation. In my endeavor to become a successful choreographer, I chose to read about the foundation of choreography. In addition I watched videos of successfully choreographed dances. The work of Rudolf Laban was an excellent resource. Laban characterizes dance movement into specific “Laban Efforts,” which include soft, hard, and sudden, sustained. With my background in dance, I understood which steps constituted these characteristics and was able to determine how to go about choreographing my own dances. For example, in my dance duet about depression, I used slow sustained movement to show depression’s crippling effects. Another concept that was helpful learning how to vary movement. Retrograde for example takes a sequence of steps performs and them backwards. This makes the choreography more visually appealing to the audience. Although there is a somewhat mathematical approach to choreographing a dance, I found that in order to create a meaningful dance it was most important to request feed back from my peers. Seeking the advice of others is often challenging but completely necessary in order to improve ones self. Although, showing my choreography to others makes me vulnerable to criticism, it has enabled me to improve my skills as a choreographer.
Standing in front of my dance class in my canvas ballet slippers, I began to explain the intention of my dance. My first choreographed dance was about the passing of my grandmother. Her and I were never close because she was hospitalized due to mental illness. My dance showed the disconnect I felt with my grandmother by including sharp, choppy and spontaneous movement. After performing my dance I asked for feedback from my peers. After discovering the strong points and weaknesses of my dance, I went back and revised. The combination of research and peer editing helped me become better at choreographing. I believe that when working on a skill it is vital to do research and seek feedback from others. The combination of these two practices has helped me to become a successful choreographer. Also, each dance I choreograph becomes much better than the last because I have gained more experience.
With time and effort, I have been able to improve my skills as a choreographer. The way I became strong in this art was by research, feedback and experience. Now that I understand how to choreograph, I am able to use this skill to portray my stance on different subjects. I see this as a valuable asset because it gives me a voice that not many others have. Now not only can I perform, but I can share my own story on stage. The world is constantly changing, and through dance I can express many new ideas. The stage is a fantastic forum to present new ideas and relate to others. As an education major, I see the arts as an asset to our society and hope to encourage my future students to find their own artistic outlet. Choreography has enabled me to express myself, and I plan on giving my future students and opportunity to express themselves as well. Choreographing has given me a boost confidence and I hope by introducing the arts to my students they can have confidence in all that they do. To project your thoughts out to the public can often be scary, but provides you with positive feedback and a sense of voice. The stage is one of the many forums for this voice.